Garment tag and method of and apparatus for applying same



H. S. OWEN July 28, 1953 GARMENT TAG AND METHOD OF AND APPARATUSFOR APPLYING SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 4, 1950 Imvemiar ficzdzhm .5. Gwen an a July 28, 1953 HS. OWEN I 2,646,635 GARMENT TAG AND:METHOD 0 AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING SAME Filed May 4, 1950 2 Sheets-SheetlZ 29 2g f Y 1 v I23 Bu): J9 J7 ,ZJ \J/J M an? i" BLUQ I n v i k J9 19 1;

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v ,eJ- Ji fwuemzor ab 0m Owaw 19/7 v Patented July 28, 1 953 GARMENT TAG AND METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING SAME Haddon S. Owen,

Framingham, Mass., assignor to Dennison Manufacturing Company, Framingham, Mass.,

a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 4, 1950, Serial No. 160,058

6 Claims. I 1

This invention is a continuation of my pending application for Garment Tag and Method of and Apparatus for Applying Same, Serial No. 133,654, filed December 17, 1949, now abandoned, and has for its object to provide tags of the kind disclosed therein and of improved design which may be attached to a garment with the ends of the staple covered to prevent injury to the garment or to persons handling the garment. Another object is to provide a way of positioning the tags on the anvil of a stapler to staple the tags to the garment with the ends of the staple so covered. A further object is to provide tags which may be secured to the stapler and need not be manually held thereon operation.

The tag is adapted to be folded on a first transverse line near its middle and again on a second line near one end of the tag to provide a tag with during the stapling a front and back and a flap between the front and back, the tag having a slit therethrough designed to receive the blade of the anvil so that the anvil may be positioned between the front and back folds. In accordance with one form of the invention the opening is formed in the back part intermediate the folded ends thereof and preferably forwardly of the midportion of the tag, that is closer to the fold line between the back and flap than the fold between the front and back so that when the anvil is thrust through the opening from the underside into the space between the front and back and thence beneath the flap, the major portions of the front and back are pressed into close contact with the fabric and at least the back is buckled transversely.

Alternatively, the opening may be formed at the v first fold line so that the anvil blade extends between the front andback throughout the entire length of the tag. In each form of the tag and opening on the second fold line admits the end of the anvil so that the folded tag may be positioned securely on the anvil and disposed over the edge of the fabric with its front and back folds extending along opposite sides of the fabric, whereby a staple may be passed through the front and thence through the fabric andthe fiap with the ends of the staple turned between the flap and the back and covered by the back. Preferably the tag has a weakened portion along the junction between the flap and back to facilitate folding. The tag may be prefolded as described, or may be folded at the time it is attached to the fabric.

In another aspect two openings are provided along the second transverse line with a solid por- In a further aspect the invention involves the 6 method of applying the tag to an article of fabric which comprises folding the tag along the aforesaid first line, inserting the anvil of the stapler through the slit whether it be in the back part or at the first transverse fold line and thence partially through an opening along the second transverse fold line, disposing the folded tag over the edge of the fabric with the front and back of the tag extending along opposite sides of the fabric and inserting a staple through the front, thence through the article and the flap, and bending the ends of the staple between the flap and back so that said ends are covered by the back. The method also'includes as 'a step incident to application of the tag, buckling the back part transversely to stiffen it longitudinally.

In a further aspect the invention involves a V stapling device for applying the tag to a fabric article which comprises an elongate anvil adapted to be disposed along one sideof the fabric, the anvil having a portion of reduced width at one end adapted to be inserted in the first opening between the front and back of the tag. The anvil for the tag with the back opening has a comparatively wide, blade-like portion adapted to have contact with the exterior side of the back, a narrow portion adapted to enter the opening in the back into the space between the back and front, and a toe at its terminal end adapted to enter the opening in the fold between the flap and back. Additionally it has a longitudinally extending raised rib on its upper surface for engagement with the back of the tag in such a manner as to impart transverse buckling thereto. Preferably the rib tapers from the rear end of the anvil toward the front end and terminates substantially at the junction of the broad and narrow parts thereof so as not to enter into the opening in the back part. Alternatively the anvil for the tag with the end opening is flat and has one or more extended portions of lesser width than the body of the anvil, with the leading edge provided adjacent one of said portions, the eX- tended portions being adapted to be inserted in corresponding openings in the second transverse" line of the tag with the leading edge abutting the fold along the second transverse line, whereby the tag may be accurately positioned relative to the anvil.

For the purpose of illustration typical embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a tag, having an opening in the back part, prior to folding;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a stapling anvil used for applying the tag having the back opening;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a fragmentary portion of the tag having the back opening folded on the anvil shown in Fig. 2 as seen from beneath;

Fig. 4 is an inverted section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an inverted section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. I 6 is a longitudinal section through the folded tag showing entrance of the anvil through the opening in the back;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the stapling anvil with a piece of fabric laid over the anvil and a tag folded over the fabric and anvil with the anvil projecting through the opening in the back part;

Fig. 8 is a section longitudinally of an attached tag, the tag being stapled to an edge of a sheet of fabric;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of an alternative tag having an opening for entrance of the anvil between its front and back parts at one end, that is along the fold line between the front and back;

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a stapling anvil for use in applying the tag having the end opening;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the alternative tag folded on the anvil shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a section on the line l2-i 2 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a side elevation of a stapling device including the anvil shown in Fig. 10 with a piece of fabric laid over the anvil and a tag folded over the fabric and anvil, it being understood that the anvil of Fig. 2 may be substituted therefor;

Fig. 14 is a longitudinal section showing a folded tag of the type having the end opening stapled to a sheet of fabric;

Fig. 15 is a plan view of a modified form of the tag having the end opening;

Fig. 16 is a plan view of a modified anvil for use with the tag shown in Fig. 15; and

Fig. 1'7 is a plan view of the modified ticket of Fig. 15 folded over the anvil.

One form of the tag which is to be applied to the edge of a fabric, garment or the like, according to the present invention is shown in Fig. l to include a permanent L-shaped section (0 carrying sales indicia l2 and a temporary section l4 carrying duplicate indicia which may be separated from the permanent section along weakened lines It and 18. The tag is designed to be folded along the weakened line l8, which preferably extends all the way across the tag to afford a back 20 opposed to a front or indicia-carrying portion 22. According to the present invention the tag has an opening or slit 24 extending transversely of the back 20 to admit the anvil of a stapling device, and is also provided with a line of weakness 26 with a shorter opening or slit 28 therethrough near the free end of the back 20 of the tag so that by folding, a flap 30 may be had, adapted to overlie the end of the anvil between the front 22 and back 20 with the tip of the anvil inserted through the opening 28 as illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 7. It is to be observed that the opening 24 lies beyond the mid-length of the back 20.

This tag may be attached to a sheet of fabric F by operation of a stapling machine D such as shown in Fig. 13 which includes a driving head H and a replaceable anvil, for this tag of the kind shown at 32 (Figs. 2, 3, 4 and '7) carrying stapleclinching grooves 34-34 near its end. A lever L is provided for actuating the head. The tag may be folded as it is applied to the anvil or fabric, preferably however it is folded at each of the lines I8 and 26 before it is applied. Moreover while the tag may be applied to the fabric first, it also may be first folded, slipped onto the anvil into the position shown in Fig. 4. and the fabric then slipped into place between the front and back as shown in Fig. 7. A staple S is then driven from the stapling head through the permanent portion I0 of the front 22, thence through the fabric and thence through the flap 30 against the clinching grooves 3 i-34 which bend the ends of the table between the flap 30 and the back 20 (Fig. 8). The turned-in ends of the staple are thus guarded so that they cannot snag on other parts of the garment or injure persons handling the garment. The temporary portion I4 may be removed from the front when desired, usually at the time the garment is sold, without detaching the attached permanent portion 12. While the tag illustrated has a detachable portion l4 it is to be understood that the front part 22 may not have a detachable portion, that is, the entire front may be permanent in which case there would be but one set of indicia thereon.

The tag as thus constructed with the anviladmitting opening or slit 24 situated in the back 20 facilitates entrance of the anvil between the back and front for the attaching operation. That is with the opening or slit positioned so that it occupies a place situated within the back 20, it is at once evident by reference to Fig. 6 that the anvil may easily be entered therethrough merely by sliding it along the external surface of the back with a slight upward pressure such as to open the slot, whereupon the forward end of the anvil slips through the opening into the space between the front and back.

An alternative form of tag is shown in Figs. 9 and 11 to 14. As in the aforesaid tag, this tag includes a permanent L-shaped section I I carrying sales indicia l3 and a temporary section 15 carrying duplicate indicia which may be separated from the permanent section along the weakened lines I! and [9. This tag is designed to be folded. along the weakened line l8 which preferably extends all the way across the tag, with its back 21 opposed to its front or indiciacarrying portion 23, but in contrast to the prior tag, has an opening or slit 25 along the line, l9 to admit the anvil of a stapling device, and is also provided with .a weakened line 21 with a shorter opening or slit 29 therethrough at the free end of the back 2! of the tag so that a flap 3! may be folded along line 21 over the end of the anvil to lie between the front 23 and the back 2! with the tip of the anvil inserted through the opening 29 (Figs. l1, l2 and 13). The weakened line 21 may consist of the slot 29 as shown in Fig. 9 or score lines 2 9a as shown in Fig. 15 or a combination of a slot and score lines.

This tag may also be attached to a sheet of fabric F by operation of the stapling machine D (Fig. 13) which has a modified anvil 33 (Fig. 10) carrying staple-clinching grooves 35-35. While the tag may be folded as it is applied to the anvil or fabric, preferably it is folded at each of the lines I9 and 21 before it is applied. While the tag may be applied tothe fabric first, prefer ably it is first slipped over theanvil into the position shown in Fig. .11 and the fabric is then slipped into place as shown in Fig. 13. A staple S is then driven from the head H through :the permanent portion H of the front 23, thence through the fabric and thence through flap 3| against the clinching grooves 35735 which bend the ends of the staple between flap 3| and the back 2i. The turned in ends of the staple are thus guarded so that they cannot snag, on other parts of the garment or injure persons handling the garment. The temporary portion I 5 may be removed from the front when desired, usually at the time when the garment is sold. As stated heretofore the front may not havea detachable portion.

As shown in Figs. 2 to '7 inclusive, the anvil for'the tag having the back opening has a comparatively wide body portion 36 having parallel longitudinal edges, a narrower neck portion 38 and a toe or tit 4!], the anvil being so constructed as to be thrust through the opening 24 in the back 2!! into the space between the front and back, thence beneath the flap 30, that is between it and the back, and thence through the opening 28 so that the tag is impaled thereon in skewerlike fashion with the flap 33 overlying the clinching grooves 3434 (Fig. Correct alignment of the longitudinal axis of the tag with the longitudinal axis of the anvilis insured by disposition of the openings 24 and 28 in the back part '29 so that when the toe 40 projects through the opening 28 an edge of the neck 38 engages an end of theopening 24.

In this form the anvil when it is entered through the opening 24 in the back 20 has extensive and close surface contact with the back of the tag, thereby minimizing skew and presses the back and front into close contact with the opposite sides of the fabric. Moreover it is designed to stiffen the tag by transverse buckling thereof. To this end, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the anvil has a raised rib 42 which originates at the rear end of the anvil and extends forwardly therefrom toward the front, terminating at about the junction of the body portion with the neck. The rib tapers from back to front both in width and height. As thus constructed the rib 42 has contact with the back 20 and imparts an upwardly transversely concave buckle thereto (Fig. 5) which extends longitudinally of the tag and which materially stiffens the tag as a whole. Since the rib terminates at the junction of the body portion and neck, it does not enter the opening 24 and hence has no tendency to distend the opening.

It is apparent that with the foregoing construction the tag may be impaled on the anvil with a minimum of separation of the front and back and of bowing thereof due to the absence of the anvil between the parts except close to the place of stapling, that the position of the anvil with reference to the front and back is such as to press them into close contact with the surfaces of the fabric or garment and is such as to effect a transverse buckling thereof so as to stiffen the tag as a whole, thereby making it easier to manipulate during application and stapling thereof to the fabric.

' As shown in Figs. to 14 inclusive, the anvil used for the tag having the end opening is provided with a tapered end 31 and shoulders or stops 39 to limit the extentto which the tag may be impaled on the anvil (Figs; 11 and 12) so that, when the anvil 33 is inserted through the openings"25 and 29 of the foldedtag, the. tag is-position'ed accurately on the anvil with the flap 3| I square with the end of. the anvil and overlying the staple-clinching grooves 35--35, thus insuring correct positioning of the staple in relation, to the flap 3|.

In the further modification shown in Figs. 15 to 17 the opening Em -corresponding to opening 25 of the tag illustrated in Fig. 9, does not over-, lap the temporary section [5, and, instead of one opening 29 at the second fold line, the modified tag has a series of slits 29a. The end of the anvil 33 is provided with two narrow extended tips 310. with an abutment 4| therebetween. In use the anvil is inserted throughopening 25a with the tips 31a extending into two of the slits 29a. While the extent to which the tag is impaled on the anvil may be limited by the abutment 4|, preferably stops 39, as in Fig. 10, are also provided.

Owing to the thickness of the anvil 33 in both forms as shown in Figs. 10 and 17, it bows the tag transversely when it is inserted, the front and flap arching upwardly and the back bowing downwardly. This causes the tag to hug the anvil closely so thatit does not become displaced easily and so that the front and flap are in juxtaposition for quick stapling. Thus the operator of the stapling device D need not hold the tag but may operate the stapler with one hand leav-' ing the other hand free to hold the fabric. The provision of the shoulders 39 and the tapered end 37 or tips 31a permits the anvil tobe positioned at right angles to the edge of the fabricwhile engaging the folded ticket so that the ticket may be squarely stapled at the edge of the fabric. This provision is particularly useful when the anvil and the ticket are to be inserted in a tubular piece of fabric F (Fig. 13), such as a sleeve or the wrist of a glove. Whether a sheet of fabric ora tubular garment is tagged, however,,the construction of theanvil assures that the tag will be neatly stapled thereto with the ends of the staple covered.

It should be understood that the present disof illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and closure is for the purpose equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A tag of the type adapted to be applied over the edge of a piece of fabric or the like with its front and back extending along opposite sides of the fabric, the back having a transverse fold line near its free end forming a flap which can be folded back between the fabric and the back along a fold line, so that a staple may be extended through said front, thence through the fabric and thence through said flap with the ends of the staple disposed between the flap and back, and the tag having two openings to receive a staple anvil, the second opening being located at said fold line and the first opening having a substantial dimension transversely of the tag to admit a staple anvil directed toward the second opening and being wider than the secand opening, whereby a staple anvil with a narrow tip may be inserted through the wider opening and thence under the folded flap with its tip projecting through the smaller opening, said openings being adapted'cooperatively to position the tag laterally, and said flap fold line cooperating therewith to position the tag longitudinally on the anvil.

2. The method of applying an elongate tag to an article which comprises folding the tag along and forcing the ends of anvil .to bend the ends of the staple between the flap andbackjso that they are covered by the" l back inwardly at another'foldjlinetofor between the frontandcbaclg thrusting the back one fold line with the front and back sides of the the flap and back so that they are covered by V the back. 1

3. The method of applying an elongate tag to an article which comprises folding the tag trans versely along a fold line, folding an end of the back inwardly at another fold line so as to lie between the front and back, thrusting a support member through an opening in the back from the underside thereof close to the flap, thence beneath the flap and thence through an opening at said other fold line to apply transverse buckling to the back, placing the back impaled on the support at one side of the fabric and the front at the otherside of the fabric, inserting a staple through said front, thence through the article and thence through said flap, the staple against said 4. The memos bf api olyingian. elongate tag I an article which comprises f0 the tag trans; versely along one fold line, foldingamend and front overthe .edgeofanfabric so as to extend along opposite sides thereof, buckling the back transversely thereby to bring the front and, back closer together and supporting the flap against the fabric, inserting a staple through said front, thence through the article and thence through said flap, and forcing the end of the staple againstsaid support to bend the ends of the staple between the flap and back so that they are covered by the back,

5. A-tag of the type adapted to be applied over theedge of a piece of fabric or the like withits front and back extending along opposite sides of the fabric, the back having a transverse fold line near its free end forming a flap which can be folded back between the fabric and the back so that a staple may be extended through said front, thence through the fabric and thence through said flap with the ends of the staple disposed between the flap and back, and the tag having an opening which has a substantial dimension transversely of the tag to admit a staple anvil directed toward said fold line, said front being divided by a weakened line extending substantially at right angles to said fold line into a permanent section and a detachable section, and said anvil opening being offset toward the permanent section so that the anvil underlies the permanent section when inserted thru the opening.

6. A tag of the type adapted to be applied over the'edge of a piece of fabric or the like with its front and back extending along opposite sides of. the fabric, the back having a transverse fold line near'its free end forming a flap which can be folded back between the fabric and the back so that a'staple may be extended through said front,

thence through the fabric and thence through the flap with the ends of the staple disposed between the flap and back, and the tag having a transverse opening in its back situated between the ends-thereof to facilitate entry of a staple anvil:therethrough, said opening having a sub;

stantial dimension transversely of the tagto' admit the staple anvil directed? line; said frontsbinfgdivided by iextending substahtiall {at right 'rigle's."toi'said fold: linejinto a permanent sectionjandrada' I tachable section, and saidianvil opening .being bifset'toward the permanent, section so that the anvil underlies the permanent section when inserted thru the opening.

- 1: HADDort-s. OWEN.

References citediingthe file r this'pat'ent v p UNITED STATESPATENTS Number Name Date,

966,462 Michel Aug. 9, 1910 1,136,807 Hullings Apr. 20, 1915 1,850,988 Petersen Mar. 12, 1932 1,885,031 Petersen Oct. 25, 1932 r 2,008,644 Marsh July 16, 1935 2,464,113 Bernstein Mar. 8, 1949 2,514,127 Fleischer July 4, 1950 2,548,827 Stein Apr. 10, 1051 ow ard said fold l 

